The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages
by saragator
Summary: The Guardians have fallen. Pitch has finally won. Except, there's a catch. Jack Frost is still alive. He's alive, living in another realm; fighting demons with friends his age and who understand where he's been. Together, they may be able to finish off Pitch for good. However, how can you fight the King of Nightmares when demons have overrun the planet? Can they be helping Pitch?
1. The Fall of the Guardians

**The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages**

1-The Fall of the Guardians

"Jack! Save yourself!" Nicholas St. North shouted as his last sword dissolved and a black hole developed beneath him, sucking him down.

A wet and ungraceful version of Jack Frost cried out and desperately grabbed at the thin pocket of air where North once stood.

"Jack!" Toothiana shouted, her wings flapping hard to attempt pulling her out of the black hole sucking her down into nothingness. "Take this," she ordered, placing something into Jack's open palm. "Nightlight sent it, use it to protect yourself. You can still stop him. It's not too late."

"But Tooth! What about you?" Jack asked, using his staff to shoot melted ice shards at oncoming Nightmares.

"I'll be fine, Jack, don't worry about—" the last word of her sentence was never heard as the black hole gained the forefront and engulfed her under the ground.

"Tooth!" Jack cried, pounding his fist against the now solid ground. A Nightmare snarled at him and spit black sand into his face, blinding him as he shot water from his faintly glowing staff in every direction.

"Mate," a miniature version of E. Aster Bunnymund called out, nudging Jack out of the way of the Nightmare's killing lunge. "It was nice knowing ya, but I'm afraid I can't stick 'round much longer."

"Bunny?" Jack screamed over the roar of the Nightmares behind him. "What's happening?" A sucking black hole began to form underneath Jack as he swung Bunnymund with his staff behind him while the Nightmares kept multiplying.

"The kids," Bunny yelled, dodging an attack and hopping behind Jack's leg as Jack shot another splash of water in the Nightmare's face. "They no longer believe, none of them. We, as Guardians, are disappearing into nonexistence. But, no time for that, mate, you gotta go."

"But, why me?" Jack asked, staring at Bunny incredulously as the tiny Pooka tapped his foot against the asphalt.

The tunnel overpowered the black hole tugging at Jack's legs as he began to fall down.

"You'll find out soon enough!" Bunnymund shouted after him before the tunnel closed up and Jack tumbled downwards.

Tree roots and rocks bumped into Jack's already battered face and his legs continuously got caught on several of them before he had the sense to call his buddy the Wind to help him coast the rest of the way down.

Soon, the tunnels evened out and Jack tumbled out into a field as the Wind dropped him.

Blinking his eyes, Jack sat up and tried to get a clue of where he was. He clutched his powerless staff close to him as he lifted up the object Tooth gave him against the sunlight.

It was a manila scroll tied up with a bright blue bracelet. The bracelet had the oddest symbol in its center but Jack barely took any notice to it as he took it off and opened the scroll.

"Nightlight, huh? Interesting…" Jack muttered, holding the open paper in one hand and staring at the bracelet in the other.

"_My Dearest Toothiana,_" Jack read, absentmindly twirling the bracelet around with his finger. "_I know this is very sudden, but I am afraid that something terrible is going to happen. Pitch is planning on breaking free and although I shall also be free, I am afraid that this would affect you in the most disgraceful way. He's gotten stronger, Tooth, and angrier. He seeks revenge. I fear that there will be a return of the Dark Ages if I do not help to act in some way. I have sent you this bracelet, it shall_ —Hey! Wind! What's gotten into you?!" Jack interrupted himself as the Wind blew the paper out of his hand.

Jack stood up sharply, his head swimming violently as he tried to grab the paper back.

It was to no avail as the manila scroll blew up higher into the sky and out of sight. Jack stomped his foot against the green grass and snapped his fingers in anger.

The Wind then gently pushed Jack forward, regaining his attention. "What? What is it buddy?" he asked, the Wind giving him another push.

Jack obeyed, walking forward before he fell flat on his face, groaning in pain as his staff jabbed into his side.

He shook his head, sending pieces of green grass flying out of his snow white hair.

When he looked up, a lone tall tower loomed before him, casting an eerie shadow upon the boy.

"Woah," he whispered; his eyes wide at the sight before him. He stood up and let the Wind take him up to the only window in the tower, wanting to take a peek inside.

Jack flew up and landed on the windowsill, not as gracefully as he would've liked, but he was on it. He wiped away the fog off the window his breath had managed to create.

"Oh dear, I'm getting warmer," he muttered worriedly, staring down at his blue jacket; the frost lines already completely melted and soaking him to the bone. He looked into the window and saw a girl inside of it.

A girl with extremely long, blonde hair.

_Extremely_ long hair.

The girl turned towards the window and Jack quickly turned away and held on to the side of the brick tower wall, breathing heavily.

For the first time in his entire life, Jack Frost was star-struck.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah. lol This was something I started writing a year ago, forgot about it; and started writing for it again XD lol I'm currently writing Chapter 8 at this moment, and guess what guys? My AP Chemistry exam was yesterday... Phew, thank the Lord that is out of the way. Gah. I ran out of time toward the end there. I'm going to calculate whether my tears have acidic or basic salt properties now... Anyways, this is going to be a Big Four story, and yes, it is going to be a very interesting read. The turn it took in Chapter 3 wasn't what I remembered planning a year ago. XD So, yeah, rating this T for a good reason, but if later on you feel it needs to be rated higher, please tell me. I do get descriptive with certain scenes and there is implied themes but I think I'm over worrying myself because I never really described scenes like what is to come before and I'm just not used to it because I'm always writing playful romances so yeah lol XD This is more blood and action than romance and friendship, even though that stuff is included in here too. So, don't own Jack, or any of the Guardians, or Nightlight's mention, they all belong to DreamWorks and William Joyce. The others I'll disclaim next chapter when they make their grand entrance lol XD So, yeah, lol got to do my Pre-Calc homework now, so, good bye-bye and allons-y! And oh, by the way, if you were or are interested in starting, the sequel to my other RotG fanfic Starting Over is up, just putting it out there XD lol and ooooooohhhhhh Hunter Hayes' new album was released today! So exciting. Can't tell if I love "Wild Card" or "Secret Love" more lol XD Oh, image belongs to VivianaxD if I spelled it right I googled it and it looked awesome so credit to her! Okay, I'm done rambling. :) Bye!**


	2. The New Kid on the Block

**The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages**

2-The New Kid on the Block

He stood against the tower, flushed hands gripping tightly on the side of the wall; breathing heavily. He was hoping to Man in Moon that she didn't walk up and open the window in his face—or through his face.

Yet, he _so_ desperately wanted to sneak another peek at her.

It was unbelievable how long her hair was.

Jack took in another deep breath before deciding on his next objective. He was going to go in.

Chances were, she wouldn't see him anyways.

* * *

Boy, how he was wrong.

He had pushed open the window and lightly stepped in, flying over to one of the walls where she couldn't see him.

Or so he thought.

He hadn't even so much as opened his mouth to say hello when he suddenly got this very strange pulsing feeling inside his head and then all was black.

* * *

He woke back up believing he had just fallen asleep and turned over in his bed to block out the light.

Except he was pretty sure he had a rule—yes, even the great naughty-list record holder Jack Frost had rules—that no one was to be in his room when he was asleep.

He tried to mumble out "go away" to the intruders when he realized that he didn't recognize the voices the whispers belonged to.

And his eyes wouldn't cooperate, they wouldn't open for him no matter how he tried to.

Had he gone blind?

"Damn, girl, how hard did ye hit the lad?" he heard.

"I didn't," another voice spoke, a feminine one. "He went down before I could."

Jack felt someone prodding at his wrist, lifting his sleeve up. "He's got a pulse," another voice chimed, a boy probably around his age. "A very weak one, but he's got one."

"I'm not so much worri'd as wheth'r or not he's alive or not, but what baffles me is that 'ere stick he had lyin' 'side 'im," a girl, probably from one of the Northern Isles; questioned.

Jack tried to retort, but it seemed his mouth had quit working too.

Great, blind and mute.

Perfect.

"It looks like a shepherd's hook, my father back in the old days knew some of the fellows that tended to the sheep back home and they had something like that."

"Or a staff!" the other girl added excitedly.

_I agree with the girl_, Jack said in his head, even though he knew no one heard him.

How did he end up here in the first place? What had happened?

The girl continued to speak. "Do you think, maybe... that he's..."

"One o' us?" the Scottish girl finished. "Nay, he looks like a standard high school rebel to me, white hair 'n' all. Jacket's bit wet, which is odd."

"No..." the boy spoke up. "Look at the bracelet he had lying down beside him as well. Notice the symbol?"

Silence followed as Jack assumed they were looking at the bracelet.

Wait, bracelet... oh, that's right. He was on the verge of disappearing from history.

So, how come he hasn't yet?

Or did he? Was he finally in the afterlife?

"That is odd, mate... oi, look; he's stirrin'."

Funny, Jack didn't notice it; but he was moving his hands and arms slightly.

Was he possessed?

Something incoherent slipped past his lips in a tiny mumble.

"Here, let me see that," the one girl ordered. His hand lifted up, and he felt something being pushed down around his hand and onto his wrist.

He assumed it was the bracelet.

"I think he is one of us, guys, look at the bracelet," the boy said. "That symbol... it matches ours."

"See! Ha! I was right! Take that!" the more enthusiastic girl shouted.

He could practically hear the other girl roll her eyes in annoyance.

Then, as if a miracle occurred; Jack Frost was able to flutter his eyes open.

Pink and purple flooded his eyesight for a while, before three very curious faces began to materialize around him.

"Oi, look 'ere; he's awake," the girl with the wild red hair pointed out.

He sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head; then realized with an excruciating pain how much it hurt to move so little. He let out a low groan, closing his eyes shut and slurring out, "Wh—what happened..."

The redhead crossed her arms. "Ye tell us that yerself boy."

The boy rolled his green eyes, walking closer to Jack and helping him sit in a more comfortable position; and he appeared to be walking on a prosthetic leg of sorts.

Jack knew he hadn't seen one done that old-school in forever.

"Don't question the poor guy," he spoke, putting a hand on Jack's forehead; to which he protested to the sudden touching. "He just woke up, and he's burning up." He removed his hand from his head and stepped back again.

The girl with the extremely long blonde hair stepped forward and sat next to Jack on the bed, looking him in the eye with her pretty big green ones.

Jack could feel his heart rate pick up and he didn't know why.

Was his health condition really that bad?

She put her tiny hand on top of his, sending Jack more mixed signals of feelings he's never experienced before; or at least remembered feeling.

"You took a pretty bad fall there," she said, waking Jack out of his trance he then realized he was in. "You alright?"

He nodded, then remembered it hurt to do so; and resorted to just speaking. "Yeah... but seriously, what happened?"

She bit her lip. "Well, um, you broke into my tower and passed out. You were out for a while too, we thought you were dead for a moment there."

"Oh..." he murmured softly. "Last thing I remember is the battle... Bunny..." Jack's eyes widened as he mentioned his friend's name and he tried to jump up but the blonde girl held him down.

Wow, she was strong.

"No, no, no, no, you don't understand," he said quickly, trying to get up again; ignoring the spiking pain shooting up around his body. "Pitch has won... North, Tooth, Sandy... they're all gone... I gotta go get them back!"

She pressed her hands down on his legs and chest harder, pinning him down against the bed. "No, you are in no shape to go anywhere mister," she ordered, and Jack felt the sudden inclination to obey and settled down once more. He nodded slightly, his breath hitching in his throat as he realized how close her face was to his.

She nodded, keeping that stern face she had on and stepping back once more. "Oh, by the way; who are you?"

Jack nearly forgot to reply. "Oh, Jack. Jack Frost."

The redhead burst out laughing. "Don't play tricks, boy; ye know he ain't real."

Jack and the other two frowned at her, and eventually she shut up. The only difference between Jack and the other two was that his eyes were wide with confusion. "Then how can you see me if you don't believe?" he asked.

The redhead glanced between her friends before responding quite loudly, "Oh, come on! Ye don't mean to tell me ye think he's tellin' the truth?!"

"I'm pretty sure I am, lady," Jack retorted with a sarcastic edge to his voice.

The male rolled his eyes at his friend's boisterous behavior. He turned to face Jack. "That's Merida, Jack. She can be a bit outright about certain things. That over there is Rapunzel." She gave a quick wave and small smile. "And I'm Hiccup. Pleasure to meet you."

"So wait..." Jack said, not really responding to Hiccup's introductions. "How can you guys see me if all the belief in the Guardians ran out?"

Hiccup sighed, looking down for a quick second. "Well..."

Rapunzel spoke up. "We're technically not human. Well, we are but we're not at the same time if that makes any sense." She laughed a melodious laugh. "We were chosen to protect anyone in danger from the demons of the underworld."

"Toothless is pretty good at scaring them off, actually," Hiccup interrupted.

"Toothless?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The lad's got a dragon," Merida spoke up. "Hate to get on his bad side, I tell ye."

_Dragon?_ "Oh..."

"Yeah, well, anyways," Rapunzel continued. "We were chosen to fight off demons and other evil things to keep the mortal ones safe."

This time it was Jack's turn to interrupt. "Chosen by who?"

Rapunzel shrugged, her blonde hair moving with her shoulders. "I don't know..." A sudden sad look came across her face, and Jack questioned no further.

"I fell into fire," Hiccup said. "Woke up to Toothless licking my face, a new leg on my thigh and a strange feeling in my head. Then I realized I wasn't at home anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know ye sad story Hic; let's ask the lad his story," Merida commented, making motions with her hands.

Jack looked befuddled. "My story?"

"Yeah, like how ye got chosen and stuff."

This confused Jack even further. "Chosen for what? To be a Guardian?"

All three simultaneously looked at each other with shocked faces.

Rapunzel was the first to speak. "You don't mean..."

Merida put in her two-sense before Rapunzel could finish. "Yer one o' the big five?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, so?"

Hiccup exhaled sharply. "It means you're very powerful, Jack. And now you are chosen to be one of us."

Jack's jaw dropped, the pain in his body forgotten due to this newfound information. "I've been _what_?"

Merida rolled her eyes. "Ye heard the lad, ye've been chosen to become one o' us; see? Check the symbol on yer bracelet. It's the same as ours." She paused for a second to think before speaking again, more to herself. "I wonder if ye got the symbol etch'd on yer body yet."

He raised an eyebrow at her before lifting his arm to check the bracelet symbol. It was a strange symbol indeed, almost like it was a letter from a language long forgotten. Merida held out her hand to show him the ring on her right middle finger.

It also had the same symbol.

Jack inhaled sharply, looking up to meet her eyes.

Rapunzel pulled a necklace out from hiding behind the front of her dress and showed him the charm. Hiccup turned his leg to the side as well.

Both had the symbol.

Jack almost couldn't take it, he felt as if he would pass out again.

Hiccup was the one to break the tense silence with a single sentence that made it worse for Jack.

"You're one of us now. Welcome to the gang, Jack Frost."

* * *

**Author's Note: BAM what? lol Well... I was gonna wait a few days before I updated but I decided to update now since I'm super ahead in writing anyways-I'm on Chapter 8-and considering I have an AP Lit exam tomorrow and APUSH next Wednesday, I'd have loads more time to write after that and y'all need a little refresher from last chapter's humongous shocker lol Yeah... I killed them. Sorry. I'm mean that way. Picked it up from J.K. Rowling the Queen herself so yeah XD Will they come back? I don't know, maybe. XD lol It'll spoil it if I told you, but if you knew me, and the fact that I am in like love with Doctor Who, I don't like endings. Especially sad endings. I can handle happy endings, but sad endings make me want to through the book against the wall. OOOOOHHHHH BY THE WAY, I JUST STARTED READING THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS (DON'T JUDGE ME AP LITERATURE, AP CHEM, APUSH AND ****ACCELERATED ****PRE-CALC PREVENT YOU FROM HAVING TIME TO READ OR WRITE) AND I JUST READ THE MOST SHOCKING THING EVER. LIKE, MY GOD. DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. AT ALL. Okay, lol anyways I had to tell someone no one except maybe three that I know of that are my nerd friends have read it yet too and I had to get that out. If you read it, last sentence of Part 1 for City of Bones. Don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read it yet. Okay, disclaimers. Gotta do those stinking things. Hiccup and Jack belong to DreamWorks and fellow corresponding authors, and Rapunzel and Merida belong to Disney and Pixar. Oooohhhh, by the way, _Brave_ is the only movie out of all of these I have yet to watch, so pardon my oppsies if she appears too OOC or whatevs. I'm getting a feel of her character based off other Big Four fanfics I've read. So, yeah. XD Don't own them, but most everything else I do. Basically anything that doesn't feel familiar to you I created lol XD And oh, to answer that one review, no; the Guardians didn't die in the movie. They still had Jamie believing in them, but this story is set about maybe a hundred years or so idk how long but enough so that Jamie is no longer around even though I've just realized a teeny plot hole with the fact that his children might still believe... so idk I'll work my way around that somehow XD Okay, I've talked long enough, so adios and allons-y! :D**


	3. The Contract Has Been Sealed

**The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages**

3-The Contract Has Been Sealed

Jack was at a lost for words, his mouth hanging open like an idiot.

"I know it's a bit much to take in at first, Jack," Rapunzel comforted, taking his hand in hers again. "But once you've been chosen, you can't back out of it."

"Why?" he asked, looking at her quizzically.

She shrugged. "I've heard that there were terrible consequences if you did."

"Like what?"

Another shrug. "I've never tried, I don't even want to dream about what could happen."

"I heard that ye can get thrown in hell for it or to die again, but then ne'er come to life again; fore'er lost in the universe," Merida spoke frankly.

Jack's eyes widened.

Hiccup sat down beside Jack on the bed. "Ignore her, she's always exaggerating."

"Am not!"

Both boys laughed. "Anyways," Hiccup began, becoming serious. "There's a reason we can't even bother trying to back out of it. The contract is sealed on our skin, and could supposedly contort in unnatural ways if you try to go against it." Jack looked at Hiccup, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. "It's also the thing the keeps you alive; all of us alive. I should've been dead a long time ago, nearing ten centuries now. Yet here I am, never aging, never growing, never dying. Merida was the first of us to become one like us." She nodded in agreement. "The contract is sealed when a protector is near death. Protectors are everywhere in the mortal world, but there are only so many who could handle the supernatural phenomenon. Only so many who could actually _see_ them."

Jack interrupted Hiccup with another question. "But I've died once before. How can I die again?"

He shrugged. "Didn't you say earlier in your spell that the Guardians have fallen?"

"Yeah... but I'm still here."

Hiccup nodded his head towards the bracelet. "Because you have been chosen. The contract saved you from death."

Jack's eyes began to brim with tears. "So, that means my friends are dead? Lost... forever?"

He nodded sadly. Jack put his head down in his hands, refusing to show anyone his face in case tears fell. A hand patted his back comfortingly.

"We all face losses Jack. It's the sacrifice we have to make to save others. Everyone one of us here lost someone, but now we have each other. It'll all get better in the end. Just don't take the bracelet off."

Jack wiped his face before looking up again. "Why?"

Merida jumped straight to the point like always. "Ye'll die."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Rapunzel had previously gotten up and picked up Jack's staff, bringing it back over to him. "I think this is yours."

Jack nodded. "But it isn't useful now. My powers have drained like the water from my melting ice."

"Woah, man, that was deep," Hiccup chuckled. "But... if your powers are drained, why does your hoodie look less wet and more awesome?"

Jack looked down at his hoodie, pulling it out to get a better look at it. His mouth hung open in shock.

The frost designs had frozen over again, as if they never melted away.

Now that he thought about it, his body temperature was dropping once more.

He began to feel better.

"The contract," Rapunzel whispered. "It's sealed."

"I wonder where it's located?" Merida asked.

Jack looked back up at Merida. "What do you mean, located?"

"The contract seals itself to your skin, Jack," Rapunzel explained. Hiccup flipped over his left hand so the palm was facing down, revealing the symbol to Jack.

Jack looked at Hiccup's hand curiously, the same symbol that was etched onto his bracelet was tattooed on Hiccup's hand. Green tendrils of light licked the air quickly around the symbol before falling gracefully back down into Hiccup's skin.

Jack looked up as Merida pulled her dress skirt up, revealing the same symbol but in a red colour on her thigh above her knee. Rapunzel pulled the shoulder of her dress down to reveal a purple symbol on the front of her shoulder.

Jack was once again shocked into silence. He never saw anything like this before in his life.

Merida nodded to Jack, her impatience rolling off her like waves hitting the ocean shore. "Where's yers mate?"

He shrugged before she stormed over and roughly lifted his hoodie up. "H-hey," Jack tried protesting, leaning back away from Merida as she gasped in surprise.

"He's powerful a'right," she said, practically pulling the hoodie over Jack's head as he struggled to put it back down. Hiccup and Rapunzel looked as well, at the same symbol but in an electric blue waving its icy lashes around on Jack's abdomen. Jack blushed slightly with the exposure.

Merida finally released his hoodie and he pushed it back down quickly like a schoolgirl whose skirt was blown up in the wind. She didn't back away though, just stared at him directly in the eye. "The demons bett'r watch their back with 'im. They'll ne'er see 'im comin'."

Jack's eyes widened. "Wh-wh-what do you mean?" he stuttered, not really meaning to.

The others only stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Then the room went dark.

* * *

**Author's Note: Dun, dun, dun... XD lol I don't know why I didn't update right away lol I just didn't feel like it; I mean, I'm writing Chapter 8 so obviously these chapters are already written so idk XD So, yeah... chapter 3 guys :) hope y'all like it, got my APUSH exam Wednesday so... yeah time to watch some John Green Crash Course videos XD GEORGIA XD So, yeah, not much to say, except that I just finished reading _City of Bones_ oh. my. god. Cassandra Clare is amazing. That's all for now. XD Allons-y!**


	4. The Three Musketeers

**The Big Four: Return of the Dark Ages**

4-The Three Musketeers

Jack wasn't shocked, no.

He was used to the darkness.

It only meant one thing.

Pitch had come for him.

Hiccup burst into a fit of giggles while Rapunzel facepalmed and Merida rolled her eyes. Jack gave them a strange look.

What was so funny about Pitch coming to attack them?

Hiccup walked over to the window and put his hand on his hip like a scolding mother. Then, with a high-pitched voice, "Toothless... you've been told not to do that to us, you silly boy."

Rapunzel burst out laughing as Jack looked lost.

Jack looked at her. "What?"

She put a finger up to silence him while she caught her breath. Inhaling sharply, she said, "Toothless is a Night Fury. A rare dragon, also Hiccup's pet."

He raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at the boy conversing with the dragon outside.

"We're allowed one pet to cross over with us," she explained further. A small green chameleon revealed himself from under Rapunzel's golden hair. She held her hand out and he hopped into it, looking at Jack suspiciously. "This is Pascal, my pet." Jack nodded in a silent response.

"Plus, we get our own dragon to ride as well," Merida added, pulling a chair over and sitting in it. "Mine's a Typhoomerang, he's red and likes to burn things. I named him Fergie, in honour of me dad."

Jack listened with interest, just like when he was first being shown around North's toy shop.

Rapunzel nodded. "They live near Hiccup's end of this place. Buttercup, which is my dragon; lives there along with Fergie and Toothless. I believe we can go do that now, actually; find a dragon for you, Jack."

He pointed to himself, looking at her. "Me? Own a dragon? Um, don't they breathe fire? Fire and ice don't exactly mix, sister."

Merida chuckled, rolling her head with her eyes. "Not all dragons breathe fire, laddie. Some spit water or a sonic blast or somethin' else like that. Ask Hiccup, he's the dragon expert."

As if on cue, Hiccup walked over to the trio; a serious look on his face. "Trouble's brewing," he spoke solemnly, staring at all of them at once. "They've infiltrated the Northern Lands. Something's gone terribly wrong in the mortal world."

Jack's eyes widened as he suddenly stood up, almost falling back down as the dizziness from his previous condition settled back in. "It is Pitch," he whispered angrily.

Hiccup looked at Jack with a slight smirk nearly hidden in his serious face. "Looks like this will be your first mission, Frost."

"First mission?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

He nodded. "As a Protector."

"Well, that's a generic name..." he muttered under his breath sarcastically.

Merida rolled her eyes, having heard him speak. "We actually call ourselves the Three Musketeers, but I got a feelin' that doesn't apply anymore."

Rapunzel shook her head. "He makes four."

Jack watched the two girls curiously. "Who makes four?"

Merida facepalmed. "Ye do, dummy."

Jack frowned at her. "Not like I knew what you girls were talking about."

She shrugged. "Well, now ye do. Get on with it."

Hiccup clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, annoyance evident in his voice as he spoke again. "We can talk about this later, Merida; but right now, we gotta catch a flight outta here and into the mortal world. Jack, we'll choose your dragon and experiment with you later; just pick someone to ride with on our way there." He nodded curtly, stepping almost unnoticeably towards Rapunzel. Hiccup grinned. "Alright, Punz and Jack on Buttercup then. Merida, you've got Fergie, and I've got Toothless. Alright, let's roll." He strolled over to the window and hopped out of it as if it were an entryway, and Jack eyed the place where Hiccup once was; wondering how mentally stable that boy really was.

However, moments later; Hiccup rose back up to view, riding a beautiful black dragon who had big, green cat-like eyes and a silly toothy (well, toothless-y) grin on its face. Jack watched, not really sure how to react to the event unfolding before him.

"Want a lift to Berk, Jack? We gotta pick up the girls' dragons there," he asked from his position on his dragon.

Jack waved it off with his hand, smirking. "Nah, I got the Wind to take me." In a quiet response, the Wind ruffled his hair a little; making him smile.

Hiccup shrugged. "Alright, just keep close. I don't think you know the area of the Somnium Realm very well."

"The what the what?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Somnium Realm, the place we live; where we are right now."

"Somnium is Latin for dream," Rapunzel added. "Read it somewhere in my mortal life."

"Oh," Jack said, dropping the subject.

Merida rolled her eyes again, getting impatient and pushing past Jack and Rapunzel to head to the window. "Got'cha hair ready, lassie? I gotta get down to Angus."

Rapunzel nodded, walking up to the window and looping her hair into a hook above it that Jack couldn't see from the inside. Jack watched in awe as what appeared to be several _feet_ of hair was being gently guided to the ground which he knew was a long ways down. Merida grinned at Rapunzel before grabbing onto her hair and jumping out the window. Jack watched amazed as Rapunzel didn't even appear to be in any kind of pain from someone basically pulling on her hair. A shout from below told them that Merida had hit the bottom, and a wild neigh from a horse was heard as she rode off in the direction of Berk.

"Punz, need a ride?" Hiccup asked the blonde girl as she pulled her hair out of the hook.

She nodded and then climbed onto Toothless once he flew a little closer to the tower window. Jack stepped onto the windowsill and watched as the dragon flew back from the tower and up into the sky. It took him a few moments to realize that he had to follow them.

He silently called for the Wind, and the Wind took him up into the skies; his staff now firmly back in his grasp once again. He laughed, his first true laugh since the Battle of the Sands back on Earth. Rapunzel turned her head around as he flew up beside them, grinning at him. He grinned back, winking at her before diving down and doing a flip in the air before soaring back up high above the pair on the dragon; calling out into the sky just because he can.

Momentarily, he forgot the troubles he had been facing back in Burgess; and just plain enjoyed himself as he ducked and swerved and done all other cool air tricks in the open sky before Toothless began to make his descent. Jack followed close behind, landing with the grace he possessed before the incident back home. Rapunzel climbed off of Toothless and met up with Jack, who gave her a maniacal grin. Hiccup hopped off as well, giving his dragon a nice pat on the back before walking over to Jack.

"Welcome to Berk," he said, gesturing to the land around him. He looked about, and let out a solemn sigh. "At least, this is how I remember it." Jack looked at Hiccup in concern before the young Viking shook his head and straightened his vest, returning to his normal self.

A rowdy cry echoed before everyone had to duck from an incoming fireball. A giant dragon flew above them all before landing a few feet in front of the trio. A laughing redhead jumped off of the dragon, stroking its side lovingly as she watched the fire burn on the grass beside her.

Jack frowned at Merida. "You trying to melt me, girl?" He crossed his arms in frustration, which looked odd since he was still holding his staff.

Merida just laughed. "Told ye the lad liked burnin' things, ye all just happen'd to be in his line o' fire."

Hiccup sighed, climbing onto his dragon once more. "You just need to train your dragon better, that's what. We are living beings, not dying firewood."

Rapunzel giggled at Hiccup's remark, then looked at Jack expectantly.

"What?" he asked once he noticed she had been staring.

She smiled. "Let's go get Buttercup." She took off into the silent village, and Jack had to fly to keep up.

She disappeared into a house, and when he opened the door after her; he was met with a surprise.

Somehow, her hair managed to be braided so the end of the braid only just grazed the ground; and she was petting and whispering loving nonsensical things to a orange-pink dragon.

He leaned against the door frame, amazed with the scene before him. The dragon turned to face him, and its colour changed.

Jack gasped.

Rapunzel laughed, petting the dragon again as she explained to him what was going on. "She's a Mood Dragon. She changes colour based on her emotions."

"How did you know I was going to ask that question in particular?" Jack teased, smirking and walking closer toward the dragon; which began to pale into a light green.

"Back up, Jack," Rapunzel warned. "You're scaring her."

"Oh," he said, doing as he was told. He did not lose his playful attitude however. "Can you like, read minds or something though?" he joked.

She laughed. "Yes, actually." She laughed harder when Jack raised both of his eyebrows in response. "I'm just kidding, Jack," she laughed. "I don't think I'd like reading minds even if I could." She lowered her voice a bit as if she was afraid someone would overhear her. She whispered in Jack's ear, "You'd never know what certain guys could be thinking about."

Jack smirked at her, and she made to slap him across the face when the dragon roared quietly beside them. She turned to face it.

"Oh, I'm sorry Buttercup," she apologized, patting the dragon again as she returned to a more pinkish colour. "This is Jack, he's our friend now."

Jack made an awkward wave to the dragon, who looked back at him curiously.

"Go on, pet her," she urged, pushing Jack toward Buttercup. Jack gulped unknowingly, hesitant to put his hand out for the dragon. Buttercup leaned forward, but jumped back quickly when she felt Jack's hand.

He smiled apologetically. "I'm a bit cold, I know." But the dragon relaxed, knowing that Jack was not a threat to her.

Jack turned around sharply when he heard some clanking noises coming from nearby.

To say the least, he was decently surprised when he saw Rapunzel walk back out from the shadows holding a frying pan.

Except this frying pan was vamped up.

"It's made to kill demons," she said, answering his unasked question. "They don't die with just a whack to the head you know."

Jack let out a low whistle. "Well then..."

She shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as she clambered onto her dragon.

"Well, come on! They aren't exactly waiting for us out there!"

Jack gave a hurried nod and flew up onto the dragon, sitting awkwardly because he never really sat on an animal's back before.

She giggled quietly. "If it helps you can wrap your arms around my waist, I won't mind." Jack nodded and took in a breath, then tentatively put his arms around her waist from behind as Buttercup walked out of the house and taking off into the blue sky. His eyes widened with the sudden jerky feeling he got underneath him, as the dragon's legs bounced and then went still as her wings took over.

They rode in silence for a while, catching up to Hiccup and Merida after they had flown over the island.

Jack was the first to break the quietness of the flight. "So... the Three Musketeers, huh?"

Rapunzel nodded. "That's what we called ourselves, yeah. I'm the Healer, Hiccup's the Intelligence, and Merida's the Soldier. It worked out nice. Makes me wonder how you're going to fit it now..."

Jack shrugged. "I didn't really plan on joining you guys though."

"No one has a choice, it just happens."

"Yeah... I think I got that by now..."

By her body language, Jack could tell she had rolled her eyes. He chuckled lowly, absentmindly lying his head on the back of her shoulder. She tensed a little, and it made Jack notice what he was doing so he pulled back again quickly.

The air thickened as they flew, and Jack looked down to gasp at the sight below. The ground appeared to have changed into a bloody red and when he looked up the sky wasn't much different if you could look past the smog.

He coughed slightly when he spoke. "Where are we?"

"Earth," she responded tersely, Buttercup turning a pale green once more. Jack noticed how Toothless and Hiccup seemed to blend in with the clouds.

His mouth hung open until he realized the taste of the clouds stuck in his mouth and he quickly shut it again, wishing to spit because it was such an absurd taste. "This... is Earth?"

She nodded. "Hic told ya trouble was brewing."

Jack looked back down at the ground, worried for all the children down there stuck in the bloody mess. "But... but how? By Man in Moon, how?"

"Demons. Something must've broke through the safelock we had on their world, and now they've overrun it again."

"Oh... Dangerous business, ain't it?"

She snorted. "Dangerous? Heck yeah. Life-threatening? More like death looming waiting to just pounce and eat out your soul by slowly sucking out your life sources."

Jack whistled. "Damn, girl, that was hardcore metal."

She laughed. "I've been having Hiccup teach me about what people are into nowadays. So much has changed since that day..." Her voice trailed off into a murmur, and Jack sensed that if he asked again he would've gone too far.

He _is_ known for going too far, though.

"What happened?" he asked softly as Buttercup began her descent. "The last day of your mortal life, I mean."

She sighed, her body tensing slightly under the emotional pressure. "Things... too many things... all for a free pass out of the tower for one day..."

His eyes widened in sympathy even though her back was turned to him. "Oh... like what things?"

The tension increased just like the atmospheric pressure as they neared the red lands below. "Look... I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Jack looked down with guilt. He knew he would be going too far and he went and did it anyways. "Yeah... sorry..."

The rest of the descent was completed in silence, and Jack hopped off the last few feet to have the Wind take him to his feet. Hiccup and Merida were already at the scene, with Hiccup investigating the ground and Merida checking corners for possible hostile intruders. Rapunzel hopped off and gave Buttercup a reassuring pat, which darkened the nervous green colour she was at the moment.

She walked over to Hiccup, beginning a casual yet informative conversation with him.

Jack bent down to examine the ground himself, wiping his hand across the crimson surface. A gooey substance lifted up with his fingers, and Jack put his hand away from him in disgust.

It was _blood_.

Jack stuck his tongue out, trying to shake the blood off his fingers. A shadow loomed over him, and he immediately tensed up.

"Jack Frost," a dark, scratchy voice spoke behind him. Jack froze in fear. "The Last Guardian of Childhood." The voice gave an electronic laugh, and Jack's eyes widened; unable to turn around, afraid to see what was behind him. His grip tightened on his staff as ice swirled around that and his fingertips.

"Well... this is certainly going to be _fun_, isn't it; _Frost_?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Mwahahahahaha lol things just got interesting. XD Well, all my AP exams are done! :D Freedom! And I only have the one Regents this year and now there is only about less than a month left of school :) More time to write! And oooooo I was finally able to play my Rise of the Guardians game omg that game is so addicting I play as Jack and my sister plays as Bunnymund even though occasionally I play as North because he is just EPIC in battle. Really. I'm sorry Jack, but North defeats Nightmares better than you. XD Cause his sword just like goes swish! and bam! they're dead. XD Jack has to whack them a few times with his staff before they die. XD And Bunnymund... man has he got some cool moves. XD Anyways, yeah, here's chapter 4 and the demon activity appears to be picking up :P lol let's have some fun with this now, shall we? XD lol okay now I have to finish my last precalc assignment before we begin review and some of my NUSTEP US history summaries that I neglected to do earlier lol XD adios and allons-y!**

**_You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?_**


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